CNN
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Defense Minister Israel Katz said the Israeli military is applying lessons from the Gaza war to new West Bank operations in an effort to “prevent a recurrence of terrorism.”
Katz said the “ironclad” operation in the Jenin refugee camp would mark a shift in the military’s security approach in the occupied West Bank.
“This is a strong operation to eliminate terrorists and terrorist infrastructure in the camps, and to ensure that terrorists do not return to the camps after the operation is over, is the first lesson learned from repeated attack techniques in Gaza,” he said. Ta.
On Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the start of a “major military operation” in Jenin, just two days after the Gaza ceasefire took effect.
Palestinian news agency WAFA said Israeli warplanes had attacked Jenin and that Israeli forces, including snipers and armored vehicles, had surrounded the city’s refugee camp and blocked ambulances from entering.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), one of the extremist groups active in Jenin, accused Palestinian security forces of taking part in Israeli military operations there.
PIJ said the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority (PA) was “responsible for participating in and colluding in this invasion after providing the occupied territory with the services of besieging the Jenin camp for more than 40 days.”
PIJ said the PA “serves only the[Israeli]occupation.”
Katz said Israel will not allow Iran or any armed group to threaten Israeli citizens. Israeli officials have previously accused Iran of supporting militant groups in the West Bank, particularly the Jenin refugee camp.
“We will not allow Iranian octopuses and Sunni Islamic extremists to endanger the lives of settlers and establish a terrorist front in the east of the State of Israel,” Katz said.
This comes after a senior Iranian official warned on Wednesday that resistance to Israel would continue “as long as the crackdown continues.”
At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Iran’s Vice President for Strategic Affairs Javad Zarif said: “I do not encourage anyone to start rejoicing in the destruction of Hamas, Hezbollah, the Palestinian resistance, or the disarmament of Iran.” spoke. Because as long as the occupation continues, as long as the oppression continues, the resistance will continue. ”
More than 500,000 Jewish settlers live in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, which was captured by Israel from Jordan in the 1967 war and is currently home to 3.3 million Palestinians. lives there. Jewish settlements there are considered illegal under international law.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on Wednesday that together with the Israel Security Service, known as Shin Bet, and the Israeli Border Police, they “attacked more than 10 terrorists” and carried out “airstrikes against terrorist infrastructure” in Operation Jenin. did. ” Meanwhile, “a number of explosive devices planted by terrorists along the route have been defused.”
“Israeli security forces continue their operations,” the statement said.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health said on Tuesday that nine people, ranging in age from 16 to 57, were killed. Additionally, the ministry announced that a 29-year-old man was killed in Tanek town, Jenin district.
Footage obtained by CNN showed Israeli army bulldozers digging up the road outside Jenin Government Hospital on Tuesday night, leaving a pile of rubble in front of a driveway by morning. The hospital is located near the entrance to the refugee camp.
Dr. Wissam Bakr, director of Jenin Hospital, told CNN on Wednesday that the facility is “under complete siege by Israeli forces.”
“Since yesterday, no one has been able to enter or exist in the hospital. Yesterday, five medical staff were wounded by Israeli gunfire,” Bakr said. “The road outside the hospital has been destroyed by Israeli bulldozers. Ambulances are also unable to reach the hospital.”
Efforts by Palestinian security forces last month to eliminate militants known as “outlaws” largely failed.
Nearly 900 military checkpoints will be installed across the West Bank starting October 7, 2023, according to a statement Wednesday from the Colonization and Wall Resistance Committee, an affiliate of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank city of Ramallah. and a military gate was erected.
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday accused Israel of carrying out “collective punishment” against West Bank residents by blocking all entrances to Palestinian provinces, cities, towns and refugee camps.
The operation in Jenin is “part of Israel’s official plan to consolidate the occupation, impose Israeli law and gradually annex the occupied West Bank, including Jerusalem.” He said he was thinking about it.
Some right-wing Israeli ministers have called for the annexation of part or all of the West Bank, a view supported by some of US President Donald Trump’s presidential candidates. Itamar Ben Gvir, who resigned as Israel’s national security minister last week over the Gaza deal, said in November that the time had come to apply Israeli sovereignty to the West Bank.